Former player of the XV of France, Abdelatif Benazzi lost Thursday to Brett Robinson during the election at the head of World Rugby. The international federation will be led for the first time in history by a leader from the Southern hemisphere.
By two votes. Defeated due to his late candidacy, Abdelatif Benazzi gave everything during the election for the presidency of World Rugby. But that was not enough for the Frenchman. According to information relayed by several specialized journalists and then confirmed by the international federation, the former player of the XV of France lost to Brett Robinson in the second round of voting with 25 votes against 27 for his rival.
“It is an immense privilege and a great honor to have been elected president of World Rugby by my colleagues on the Council today,” the president welcomed Thursday via a press release shared on the body’s website. “During the process, I have had many conversations with my colleagues around the world and I have been greatly encouraged by our shared ambition to continue to build on the strength of our sport.”
If Abdelatif Benazzi was neck and neck with his opponent at the end of the first round (21 votes against 22 for Robinson), the Australian benefited from a greater carryover of votes after the withdrawal of the Italian Andrea Rinaldo . Of the nine votes obtained by the Italian candidate in the first round, four ultimately went to the former French international and five went to the ex-Wallabies player.
A first for the Southern Hemisphere
Dubbed by the outgoing president, Bill Beaumont, Brett Robinson has indeed beaten the French outsider. Supporter of a rugby more open to the world and the integration of other countries into the international concert, Abdelatif Benazzi did not manage to catch up against the 54-year-old Australian. If the former second or third row of the Blues fought well, Brett Robinson will therefore direct the destiny of rugby for the coming years.
Robinson is a strong supporter of several regulatory reforms currently being tried, such as reducing the time to shoot conversions or to prepare for scrums and throw-ins.
He also defends the 20-minute red card, which allows a team whose player is excluded to replace him after this period and therefore to no longer be outnumbered and whose vote was postponed while France had positioned itself at the forefront of opposition to this change, in the name of player safety. The election of the Australian still constitutes a small revolution. For the first time in the history of the oval, the boss of World Rugby comes from the Southern Hemisphere.
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